


Cinders and Ashes

by princeandswallow



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-10 08:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4383761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeandswallow/pseuds/princeandswallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once, there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen.  There begins the tale that we all know of, but really, this one doesn’t begin that way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cinders and Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted in my Asianfanfics account, under the username magnoliapattern
> 
> WARNING: CONTAINS STUPIDITY AND COMPLETE CHEESE ON SOME PARTS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

_Once, there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that was ever seen._ There begins the tale that we all know of, but really, this one doesn’t begin that way.  It begins, instead, at sunset, where the sun has created vermillion strokes across the sky and making rooms glow with orange-ish feel. A boy sat by his bedroom window in one of Seoul’s most exquisite mansions, looking at the setting sun. A book is resting on his lap, the page where he stopped reading marked by a dog-ear.

“Have you been reading fairytales again?” A man standing in the doorway asks him.  The boy turns around and smiles in greeting at the blond haired man in front of him. “Isn’t that a rather childish thing to do?”

“I don’t really think that Andersen’s fairytales are childish at all; and besides, he wrote the better version of The Little Mermaid.”  The boy replies just as the man grabs a chair and places it beside the boy.  “But I don’t think you went here to talk about fairytales.  Did you, Luhan?”

“Yes, I didn’t.”  The man—Luhan—replies as he gazes out into the horizon. “We need to talk about your father’s last wishes, Kris.”

“Can’t it wait?  I’m still not out of college anyway.”

“But you will be very soon.” Luhan replies, sighing. “Kris, I know that you don’t like what your father is asking you to do, but we cannot let the family business fall into the wrong hands.”

“At what?  The sake of my own freedom and happiness?!”  The boy—Kris—replies, standing up and holding the book high with a raised hand.  “He’s asking, forcing me to marry when it’s clear that I still don’t want to!”

“Would you rather let the business fall into the wrong hands than make a necessary sacrifice, then?”

“You don’t understand.”  Kris replies, subdued.  He paces around the room before standing in front of the window and looking out at the horizon.  Night is beginning to fall, indicated by the little stars that are beginning to twinkle at their appearance.

“I try to.”  Luhan replies, voice solemn.

“Then you’re not trying hard enough.” Kris replies.  There is a quiet pause between the two of them that seemed to stretch on for minutes.

“I guess we shall have to continue this some other time.”  Luhan replies. Kris doesn’t even notice when he stands up and puts the chair back to its original place before leaving the room, too busy to stare at the night slowly eating the sun.

~O~

It is early morning the next day when a young boy enters a shop, greeting his co-worker a good morning.

“Uh-oh, you don’t look too good to me, Chanyeol.” The boy’s co-worker says upon seeing the state of the boy.  The boy—Chanyeol—goes straight to the staff room behind the main area to drop off his bags and put on his uniform while his co-worker just stares at him from the doorway of the staffroom.

“Shouldn’t you be manning the register, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol weakly asks his older co-worker.

“Yes, but I am more concerned about you now than some stupid register which is most definitely still locked.” Baekhyun replies, showing Chanyeol a key dangling from a chain looped on his neck for dramatic effect. “You on the other hand… what did they do this time, huh?”

“Baekhyun…” 

“What?!  Did they not let you sleep this time?  Or have they been starving you?”  Baekhyun asks, his voice rising.

“Baekhyun…”  Chanyeol says, voice a little laced with hurt.

“Seriously, Chanyeol, you should not let them do this to you!  You deserve better! You… Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks, voice softening once he sees the state of his friend.  Chanyeol is almost doubled over, an arm draped acWu his sMinseokach. His face is scrunched up in pain, and there are few trinkets of salty liquid running down his cheeks.

“Chanyeol?”  Baekhyun says as he approaches the other quickly. “Chanyeol, what’s wrong?” Baekhyun asks as he holds his friend’s arm.

“Hurts.” Chanyeol manages to say before completely doubling over in pain.

“Where?  Where does it hurt?”  Baekhyun asks frantically, grabbing his phone.

“Stomach… no, Baekhyun…”  Chanyeol pleads, grabbing the phone from his startled friend’s grasp.  “No doctors. Can’t.  Please.  _Oh God!_ ”  Chanyeol cries as the pain intensifies and he ends up curled in a ball at Baekhyun’s lap.

“Okay, okay.  Listen; let me take you home, okay?  I’ll call Minseok and Joonmyeon, okay? I’ll ask them to cover for us today.  They won’t tell; they understand.”  Baekhyun says. After quite some time, Chanyeol finally nods.  Baekhyun immediately takes his phone out of Chanyeol’s weak grasp and calls Minseok.

“Minseok?   Hey, I’m sorry man, but can you and Joonmyeon cover for us today?” _Pause._ “It’s Chanyeol, it’s an emergency.”  _Pause._   “Yeah, he is.  I swear to god, I’ll kill that man with my bare hands if he weren’t our employer.”  _Pause._ “He doesn’t want to go to the hospital, so I’m bringing him home instead.  And yes, I’ll call once we get there and you guys can come over once your shift’s done.”  _Pause._   “Thanks, man, really appreciate it.” Baekhyun says before ending the call.

“There you go,” he tells Chanyeol as he hoists the other up on his arms, earning a small whimper of pain, “let me get you settled on the couch as I prepare the shop for Joonmyeon and Minseok, okay? We’ll get going as soon as they get here.”

~O~

“He what?!”  Huang Zitao, Kim Jongdae, and Zhang Yixing all exclaimed at their friend’s revelation. 

“Uh…”  Kris says, trying to gauge if he should answer the question or not.

“Are you serious?!”  Jongdae clarifies and Kris tries very hard not to laugh at the pieces of salad on his hair.

“Yes.” 

“Why would he do that?”  Yixing asks, frowning at his french fries.

“To piss us off, probably.”  Tao replies, glaring at the nuggets in front of him. “Are you seriously going to abide by what he asks?”

“It depends.  I mean, I clearly don’t want to, but there’s no other way to keep the business!”  Kris replies, exasperated.

“Why can’t he just let you fall in love on your own?”  Yixing asks.

“’Cause he’s nosy like that, he wouldn’t be my dad if otherwise.”  Kris replies, rolling his eyes.

“So, what’s the game plan, then?” Jongdae asks.  Yeah, trust Jongdae to move on and pick up like that.

“Well, Luhan’s planning a party… and yeah, that’s the best we could think of.”  Kris replies.

“I bet there’ll be a steady stream of high-class girls waiting to get their hands on Mr. Wu here.”  Yixing jokes.  “But really, they’re just going to get disappointed, aren’t they?”

“Aww… Kris, break their hearts gently, okay? But break their hearts nonetheless.”  Tao says, smiling.

“That’s why I like you guys.” Kris says, and the others break into laughter.

~O~

When Chanyeol comes to, it’s with the feel of soft sheets and fluffy pillows and tea.  He feels lighter and a whole lot better so he sits up and tries to make sense of his surroundings.  It’s when he was about to get up and check outside the window when he hears a familiar voice, causing him to turn around.

“I really don’t think you should be out of bed yet.”

Baekhyun is there, standing in the doorway and cradling a cup of tea in his hands.  Outside, he can hear the bustle of activity that is made of cars, people, and more cars and people.  All of a sudden, his surroundings make sense to him—he’s in Baekhyun’s apartment, in Baekhyun’s bedroom, in Baekhyun’s bed.

“Baekhyun, what…?”  Chanyeol asks, worrying his lower lip.

“You don’t remember?”  Baekhyun asks as he approaches the bed. Chanyeol shakes his head, frowning.  The other reaches the bed and places the cup of tea on the bedside drawer before feeling Chanyeol’s forehead.  “You still have a slight fever.  You had an upset stomach—a really bad one, based on your reaction this morning—and could barely move because of the pain.  I asked Joonmyeon and Minseok to cover for us today so I can take you here since you refused to go to the hospital.  On the way; we went by car, by the way—Joonmyeon offered us a ride and I was just too glad to take it; you started to develop a fever.  That was this morning, it’s now afternoon; you’ve been asleep all this time.”

“What time is it exactly?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Around 5pm.  Why?”

“5pm!  Shit!  I really need to get home!  Yoochun’s gonna kill me if I’m late!  I still have chores to do at home!”  Chanyeol exclaims, getting out of bed and rummaging for his things.

“What?!  Chanyeol, did you hear what I said?  You were sick and probably still are!  You can’t go on around like this!”  Baekhyun exclaims, trying to halt his friend’s movements.

“Well, I can’t not go home on time either. It’ll be harder for me, believe me.”  Chanyeol replies, putting on his socks.

“Chanyeol…”  Baekhyun says, exasperated.  Baekhyun did know what was going on; heck, he’s known Chanyeol ever since they were kids!  He knows what Yoochun and those two idiot stepbrothers of Chanyeol’s are doing to the boy, and he knows that he doesn’t deserve it, not one bit. But what can he do? The only thing that he could do is to transfer to the same shop that Chanyeol works in to keep a close eye on his friend to make sure that even if he isn’t being treated properly at home outside, he gets everything that he deserves. 

But things aren’t always going to stay like that.  Things are getting worse, Baekhyun can see, which is made obvious by Chanyeol’s continuing loss of weight and health deterioration.  It’s happening right under his nose and he’s powerless to stop it.

“Baekhyun, I’m sorry.  You know Yoochun, he wouldn’t really make it easy for me if I do something that he doesn’t like.”  Chanyeol says, eyes full of apology.

“It’s okay.”  _No, it’s not because you’re my best friend and I promised that I’d take care of you.  But look at what’s happening now._ “At least let me walk you home.”

“Okay.”  Chanyeol replies as he keeps his head hung low while he ties his shoelaces.

~O~

 Baekhyun, Minseok, and Joonmyeon are all waiting for Chanyeol when he arrives at the store early next morning.

“Shit.”  Minseok says upon seeing their youngest co-worker.

“Told you so.”  Baekhyun says, following Chanyeol and taking his bag for him. “Stay here, I’ll get your stuff from the staff room.”  He says before disappearing to the back.  Chanyeol faces his other two friends’ worried faces.

“Chanyeol, when Baekhyun said that it was an emergency I thought you had the flu or whatever, and that your best friend was just freaking out; but I wasn’t expecting _this_.” Joonmyeon says, eyes scanning over Chanyeol’s thin and sickly figure.  “You can’t let this continue, Chanyeol.  You have to get out of there.”

“And go where?  It’s not like I can just leave; I’ll be penniless and homeless.” Chanyeol replies, head hung low in shame.

“You can stay with us!  You can stay with Baekhyun!  Just get out of there, please.”  Minseok pleads.

“Minseok, I would love to, really, but…” Chanyeol begins but is cut off as someone enters the shop. 

A group of boys has entered the shop and is currently looking around, eyeing the records mounted on the walls and flipping through the CD racks.  Baekhyun returns when he hears the sound of the front door opening and closing. He eyes Chanyeol warily and hands him his uniform, which he puts on top of his plain white shirt.

“Sorry guys, you have to go. We got this.”  Baekhyun says, eyeing Minseok and Joonmyeon warily. The two follow Baekhyun to the front door, leaving Chanyeol to deal with the register.

“Baekhyun, we have to get him out of there; it’s going to kill him.”  Joonmyeon whispers harshly as soon as they’re by the door.

“ _I know_ , Joonmyeon. I just don’t know how to do it without hurting Chanyeol along the way.  I mean, you know Yoochun.  What he wants, he gets.”  Baekhyun replies, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, we’ll think of something. In the meantime, make sure he’s okay.  Got it?” Minseok says.

“Got it.  Thanks guys.”  Baekhyun replies.  But Minseok and Joonmyeon have already gone out of the shop, quietly planning their proper course of action.

~O~

“Excuse me.”  A deep and rough voice says, and Chanyeol pries his attention away from Ursula K. Le Guin’s _The Left Hand of Darkness_ to look at the said person.  Chanyeol’s pretty sure that the boy in front of him shouldn’t even be in that area of the town.  Tailored coat, pristine white button down, tailored pants, shiny black leather shoes, and gold watch; he’s definitely sure that he belongs to the _other_ part of town.

“Yes?  What can I do for you?”  Chanyeol asks, putting down the said book and waiting patiently for the boy right in front of him to answer.

“Do you have any albums of The Beatles in here?” The boy asks.  “I mean, uhm…” he continues, seeing Chanyeol’s raised eyebrows, “I’ve only seen the remastered versions of their old albums on CD but I haven’t seen any vinyls.  Do you have any?”

“Yes, we do.  They’re at the back… I think.  I might have to check it out.”  Chanyeol replies, but as he is about to move from his spot and go check the storeroom, Baekhyun magically appears beside him.

“The Beatles vinyls, you say? I’m _definitely_ sure they’re out back.  Let me get them for you.”  He says and smiles at the two of them before disappearing into the stock room. Chanyeol just gives up and goes back to the counter, sighing as he once again picks up the book he was reading.

“I can understand, you know.” The boy who inquired about The Beatles vinyls says.  “You don’t look so good to me.”

At this, Chanyeol shoots his head up and looks at the boy’s face once again.  Instead of the usual curiosity that customers always have when members of the staff have been interacting weirdly, this boy’s face holds true concern.

“It’s been a rough week.”  Chanyeol replies, sighing once again.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”  The boy replies before eyeing Chanyeol fondly. “I’m Kris, by the way.” The boy says, offering his hand.

“Chanyeol.”  Chanyeol replies, shaking the boy’s hand.  “Nice to meet you.”

“So, Chanyeol.  Tell me, how come it’s been a rough week for you?” Kris asks, leaning against the counter.  Chanyeol decides to put down Le Guin’s book for good.

“I have so many things to do at home, there’s also work, I got sick yesterday, and now my friends won’t even let me move a muscle.  It’s been tough.”

“And yet you still read Ursula Le Guin? Isn’t that somewhat stressing?” Kris replies, eyeing Chanyeol’s book with curiosity.

“I like reading books, especially Le Guin’s _Hainish Cycle_.  It helps me relax, I guess.”  Chanyeol replies, resting his elbows on the counter and supporting his chin with his palms.

“Sorry man, I’m not really that much into sci-fi.  I prefer Ishiguro.” Kris replies.

“Kazuo Ishiguro?!  Really?  I love his books too!”  Chanyeol replies.  Kris was about to reply but then Baekhyun appears with a couple of The Beatles vinyls.

“Here you go, sir.  Go check them out.”  Baekhyun says, and Kris has to call his friends so that they can check out what they came for.

~O~

“It’s now _The Dispossessed_ , huh?”  A voice says and Chanyeol looks up from his book.

“Kris.”  He greets with a smile.  Chanyeol puts down his book and looks at the CD that Kris’s holding. “ _Mariah Carey_?”

Kris looks down and promptly blushes once he’s caught sight of the CD he’s holding.  “Nah, I just grabbed a random CD so that I can use it as an excuse to talk to you.”  He finally replies, waving the Mariah Carey’s _The Emancipation of Mimi_.

“You could use a better excuse, then.” Chanyeol replies with a laugh. “Go grab one of the Radiohead CD’s down the second isle then we’ll talk.  I cannot risk anyone seeing you with a Mariah Carey CD; it’s bad for your image.”

It’s been weeks now since Kris and Chanyeol’s first encounter, and Kris visits Chanyeol at the store every day. They’ve known a lot about each other; like how Chanyeol’s eyesight is really bad, how Chanyeol’s afraid of bugs, how Kris plays the drums (“Really?  I play the drums too!”  Chanyeol said when Kris said this fact about him, while running his finger across a CD of The Smashing Pumpkins), and how Kris has a problem with his father’s will.

Kris returns with Radiohead’s _OK Computer_ and puts the said CD down on the counter. “I’ll buy this one later; it’s the only Radiohead CD I don’t have yet.”  He explains.

“Okay.”  Chanyeol replies, jotting down the CD on his list.  “How’s it going with your dad’s will?”

“Not good.  My lawyer’s planning this party thing this weekend and I don’t want to go.”  Kris replies, frowning. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be useless and boring.  I might end up ditching it for a night of Xbox with the guys.”

“Well, at least you can look forward to _that_.”  Chanyeol replies before he can stop himself. He immediately regrets saying it when Kris narrows his eyes and looks at Chanyeol questioningly.

“What do you mean?” 

“Nothing.  It’s just that I have so many chores to do at home and I have so little time…”

“You know, you have an obscene amount of chores to do, Chanyeol.  Even the maids at home don’t do as much…”  Kris says, the ends of his thick eyebrows almost meeting as suspicion mars his features.

“It’s just that… things aren’t really that great at home and it’s the least I can do, I guess.”  Chanyeol replies, which isn’t, really. Because he knows he’s doing too much and is suffering too much, but he’s powerless to help himself. _Pathetic, you’re so pathetic_ ; he thinks as he eyes the album cover of Kris’ soon- to- be Radiohead CD.

Kris, sensing that it’s a sensitive topic, just lets it go.  “Well, at least you don’t have to go through the tedious and energy draining process of sitting down while girls throw themselves at you.”  He says instead, earning a fond laugh from the other.

“It’s really like that?”  Chanyeol asks, amused.  “When you said party, I thought it would be you know, dancing and shit like that.”

“Well, for others it’s just like that. But for me, it’s sitting and trying to survive all the girls _and boys_ trying to throw themselves at you.”  Kris replies bitterly, making Chanyeol laugh all the more.

“Do you really have to be married to inherit your dad’s empire?”  Chanyeol asks Kris.

“My father believed that a man becomes more serious and committed to his obligations if he’s married.”  Kris replies, scrunching up his features. “I really don’t get it; I mean, there are really successful entrepreneurs who are single.  I just don’t get the significance of marriage.”

“My dad believed that too.  Maybe it’s a dad thing.”  Chanyeol replies, smiling.

“Uh… Chanyeol.  I’ve been meaning to ask you, I hope you don’t mind.” Kris says after a while, unsure whether he should continue or not.

“About my parents?  What happened to them?”  Chanyeol replies, earning a nod from Kris. “They died three years ago. My mom was killed in a car accident.  My dad, who had leukemia, kind of gave up and let go a few months after mom died, so…”

“And Yoochun?  What’s your and your parents’ relation to him?”

“Absolutely nothing.”  Chanyeol replies and was about to elaborate when the door opened and another customer came in.

~O~

Chanyeol enters the house dripping wet because of the unexpected rainfall right after he got off duty.

“What the hell, Chanyeol?!  Make sure you don’t get the floor wet, you asshole!” Someone screams, and he’s pretty sure it’s Yoochun.  As soon as the last words left his lips, though, loud footsteps came running towards him, causing Chanyeol to move back and hit the door.

“What the hell did you just say?! I’m not Yoochun, you fucker!” The person replies; who Chanyeol realizes is actually Jongin. 

“Sorry, man.  Didn’t realize it was you.”  Chanyeol replies, eyes downcast.

“Whatever, loser.”  Jongin replies, rolling his eyeballs. “Just change your clothes and do your chores, Cinderyeol.”  He finishes, laughing at the nickname.  Chanyeol just obliges and goes straight to his “room”, the attic. The “attic” is really just a small room (more of space, as Chanyeol likes to tell Baekhyun) with a lot of clutter, a futon, and a small lamp that Chanyeol bought from the thrift shop down the corner. But what sets apart Chanyeol’s attic from the usual attic is the amount of books in pristine condition present; books that Chanyeol has been collecting since he started living with Yoochun. Bradbury, Shakespeare, Palahniuk, Wilde, Fitzgerald, Gaiman, Tolkien, Rowling; name it and he probably has it.  He takes out Le Guin’s _The Dispossessed_ and drops it on his futon for a little reading before going to bed.  Next, he gets his duffel and gets a dry pair of sweats and a shirt, grabs his towel and toiletries and goes straight to the bathroom.

It’s already half past six by the time Chanyeol’s done dressing up, so he hastily goes down to the kitchen. He is stopped, however, by the front door opening and closing and the silence that follows after.

“Yoochun, who’s that?”  He hears Taemin, Jongin’s brother, say. With this, Chanyeol immediately goes out to the front door with a heavy heart.  Yoochun is standing by the door, also dripping wet. But this doesn’t catch Chanyeol’s attention, what catches it is the young boy beside Yoochun.

“This” Yoochun begins, presenting the young boy beside him, “is our new Tiffanyrder.”  He pushes the boy a little, causing him to take a step forward. If possible, the boy looks more lost, Chanyeol thinks.

“What’s your name?”  Taemin asks, eyeing the boy with curiosity.

“Sehun.”  The boy replies with a soft and scared voice.  With this, Chanyeol turns to go to the kitchen to cook dinner for him, Yoochun, Taemin, Jongin, Sehun, and for all the others in the house.

~O~

Sometimes, Chanyeol dreams in color.

Most of the nights, however, he dreams in black and white; of the family, friends, home, and life he once had. Things that are gone and will never come back again.  But during those rare nights that he dreams of color, he dreams of going to college, making music, having his own grand piano, a better life—things that he can never ever have.

This night is one of the nights Chanyeol dreams in color.  He dreams of Radiohead’s _OK Computer_ , of tailored suits and slacks, of leather shoes at are black as night.  He dreams of soft, dark locks, thick eyebrows, and golden brown eyes set against alabaster skin.  And he dreams, most of all, that the boy with the dark hair and golden brown eyes and alabaster skin and love for Radiohead will take him away from Yoochun, Taemin, Jongin, and the misery of coming home and seeing a new face.

And when Chanyeol wakes up, he cries.

He cries because it was a dream in color.

~O~

Fingers gently pushing hair from his face bring Chanyeol back to reality.  He opens his eyes—blinking a few times to make everything stop looking blurry—and lifts his head to look at the person who woke him up.  It takes a while for his eyes to focus, but when it does, he sees a very worried Kris looking at him.

“Hey.”  He greets, but immediately regrets it when his throat instantly starts to hurt.

“Chanyeol, I think you should go home. You look really bad.” Kris says, putting down the DashTiffanyrd Confessional CD that he’s holding.

“I’m fine.”  Chanyeol replies, sitting up properly and getting his book—Michael Ende’s _The Neverending Story_ —from the floor.  “It must’ve fallen.” He says to himself.

“Are you sure?” Kris asks, looking at him doubtfully.

“Yes, I’m sure.”  Chanyeol replies with impatience.

“Okay.”  Kris replies, eyes never leaving the other’s face.  “I might not be able to go here tomorrow. The party’s tonight, so…”

“Oh, it’s okay.  I hope you have fun.”  Chanyeol replies.

“As if.  I bet I’ll have more fun listening to you talk about Shakespeare than that party.”  Kris replies, smiling.

“Tell me about it next time you drop by?” Chanyeol asks as he processes the DashTiffanyrd CD that Kris bought.

“Yeah, sure.”  Kris replies before leaving the store.

Chanyeol can’t help but wonder if it was disappointment that he saw in the other’s eyes.

~O~

The house is bustling with activity when Chanyeol returns from his shift.  He sees Taemin running around while wearing only jeans and socks, shouting for his brother to hurry the hell up.  Chanyeol spots the newcomer, Sehun, in one corner and approaches him. The other is holding a plaid button down, a violet hoodie, and a pair of black Converse sneakers.

“What’s going on?”  Chanyeol asks once he’s within earshot. He can’t help but notice the bruises that are shaped like fingers on the younger boy’s wrists and inwardly cringes.

“A man came over here a while ago and invited Taemin and Jongin to this party for Kris Wu.  Ever since then, they’ve been running around trying to look cool.” Sehun replies, shrugging. Chanyeol just sighs and goes straight to the attic to change his clothes.  He drops _The Neverending Story_ on his futon, nearly missing the small neon green paper that escaped from the book when he dropped it.  Chanyeol picks it up and realizes that it’s a note from Kris containing the place and time of the party.  Chanyeol puts the note between two pages of the book with a heavy heart, before changing his clothes.  But as he was removing his clothes, the door of the attic suddenly opens, causing him to fumble around to try and cover his naked _parts_.

“Jesus Christ!  I thought I locked that door!”  Chanyeol shouts, his School of Rock blanket covering him.

“You did.”  A cheerful voice says, which Chanyeol is pretty sure is coming from the door.

“Who are you?”  Chanyeol asks, addressing the small silhouette by the doorway.

“I am your… uh… fairy godmother? No wait, that can’t be right; I’m not a fairy.  Ah, I have it! I’m your fun godmother.” The silhouette replies, stepping into the room and shutting the door completely.  Chanyeol’s self-proclaimed fun godmother is actually a tall man with wavy shoulder-length black hair and big eyes. “Hi, I’m Minho.”

“Uhm, hi, Minho!  Are you sure you’re not my fun god _father_?”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yes, I’m sure.  I mean, the original fairytale goes that way, remember? It wasn’t a fairy godfather who appeared, it was a fairy godmother.”  Minho replies.  His light blue off-shoulder shirt, white skinny jeans, and matching light blue boots immediately catch Chanyeol’s attention.

“You can’t be here to help me dress up?!” Chanyeol exclaims, eyeing the other’s outfit carefully.

“Now, that’s just insulting.” Minho says, pointing a finger to Chanyeol. “Despite appearances, I can actually put together a very decent outfit.”

“Then why… uh…”  Chanyeol says, gesturing towards the other’s clothes.

“This?”  Minho asks.  “Oh, it’s been a rough week. I and the other SHINee members just received news from Prof. Shim that our friends from Super Junior have found out our location.  We’ve kind of been on the run lately.”

“SHINee?  Super… what?!”

“Never mind.  Just be glad that I took some time off to help you dress up and snag the Wu.”  Minho replies, giving Chanyeol a teasing smirk.

“Seriously?!  I don’t even want to go to the party.”  Chanyeol replies, putting on his tiger look.

“Oh, please.  Don’t give me that crap.  I know that you’ve dreamed about Wu in color, Park.”  Minho replies, causing Chanyeol to blush.

“What?!  How did you know that?!”

“’Cause I’m awesome.”  Minho replies as if it’s nothing at all. “Now, come on. Let’s see what’s inside the bag.” He says, referring to Chanyeol’s duffel.  Minho pulls out a mic and points at the duffel, making it disappear and suddenly reappear between the two of them.

“What the hell?!”  Chanyeol exclaims, eyes wide with shock. “Who are you?”

“I already told you.  I’m Minho, Shining SHINee’s Flaming Charisma.” The other replies while rummaging through the duffel.  “Is this all you’ve got?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Geez.”  Minho replies while pulling out a walkie-talkie kind of thing. “It’s time to bring in the Key.” He then pushes a button and then all of a sudden, there’s a loud noise from the corner of the attic.

“Really, Minho, thanks for the warning.” A guy with platinum blond hair wearing a red jacket over a turquoise hoodie, black skinny jeans, black sneakers, and shades says as he approaches the two.  The guys spots Chanyeol and he immediately asks Minho, “Choi, what did you do this time?”

“Nothing!  I swear!”  Minho replies, dropping everything he’s holding and putting his arms in an “I surrender!” pose.  “I was about to help him snag Wu when I realized that he doesn’t have any clothes that don’t look like rags!”

“Hey!”  Chanyeol retorts, a little hurt because of the blow to his fashion sense.

“Sorry man, no offense meant.” Minho replies.

The guy Minho called ‘Key’ sighs before turning to Chanyeol. He removes his shades before saying, “Look, it’s really important that we help you with this, just don’t mind him, okay?” Chanyeol nods in return. “I’m Kibum, also known as the Key.” He says, extending a hand for Chanyeol to shake and ignoring Minho’s protests.  “Now, let’s get to work.  Go put on some clothes and we’ll work our way from there.”

Chanyeol does as he’s told and puts on a pair of blue skinny jeans, a red shirt, and a black hoodie.  Kibum eyes him carefully as he works. “That’s it?”  The other asks once he’s done, and Chanyeol nods in return. While Kibum is busy planning how he’s going to make Chanyeol look better, Minho asks Chanyeol some other questions.

“How long have you known Wu?”

“A couple of weeks, I guess.” Chanyeol replies, trying not to look so small under Kibum’s scrutinizing gaze.

“You talk everyday?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did he tell you anything about his dad?” Minho asks and Chanyeol instantly freezes.

“How do you know about that?”

“Just answer the question, dude.” Kibum, who is now listening to the conversation, asks.

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol replies.  “He told me about his dad’s will and how he doesn’t really want to do what it says.” Chanyeol says when the other two urge him to continue.

“But what did it say?”  Kibum asks, taking out his own mic.

“That Kris has to marry in order to inherit his dad’s empire.”

“But he doesn’t want to.”  Kibum says.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, he doesn’t want to marry? He’d rather grow up to be a dirty old man?”  Minho asks.

“No, he doesn’t want to marry just anyone. You see, Kris told me that his relatives would most likely prevent him from marrying in order to get the empire from him.  But he also doesn’t want to go with the plan that his lawyer cooked up.”

“Which is?”  Minho asks.

“The party.  His lawyer is expecting that Kris chooses the person he’ll marry from those who will attend the party.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Ah, and our dear Wu doesn’t want to marry some person he met in a party.”  Kibum deduces, earning a nod from Chanyeol.  “Well, in that case, we better get you dolled up.”   He says before pointing his own mic to Chanyeol and making shooting motion.  Chanyeol, terrified of what is about to happen, closes his eyes and waits for the pain to come… which never really did.

“Yo, stop being a pussy and open your eyes.” He hears Kibum say, so he does. He sees the two of them smiling at him as if he’s a painting and they’re the ones who painted him.

“Uh… what happened?”  Chanyeol finally asks.  Kibum frowns before answering, “Look at your clothes.” Chanyeol does as he is told (as always) and sees that his clothes have changed into a black shirt topped with a thick, black jacket with some kind of horned animal design, faded blue skinny jeans, (“Those are better than the pair you were wearing a while ago.” Kibum says when Chanyeol raises a questioning eyebrow), and a new pair of white rubber shoes with a silver hexagon design.  Kibum then produces a pair of black-rimmed glasses from his jacket and puts it on Chanyeol to finish the outfit.

“Do you like it?”  Kibum asks, voice hopeful.

“Yes, thank you very much.”  Chanyeol replies with a genuine smile, which earns him a million-dollar Key smile.

“Now, how about a ride?”  Minho asks, Kibum too busy being happy over his work.

“I haven’t got one.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yeah, I figured.  Yo, Kibum, call your brother?”  Minho replies and Kibum instantly nods and pulls out his own walkie-talkie kind of thing.  He then pushes a button, and then another loud noise came from the exact same corner of the attic that Kibum came in from a while ago.

“What is it, Kibum?”  The new person asks as he steps out to view. The new person, Kibum’s brother, has light brown hair and is wearing a dark blue jacket over a gKyuhyun hoodie, red knee-length skinnies, blue trainers, and shades.

“We need your help.”  Kibum says, pointing to Chanyeol.  Kibum’s brother steps closer to Chanyeol, as if examining him. 

“Is this your work?”  He then asks, tugging on the sleeve of Chanyeol’s jacket.

“Yeah.”  Kibum replies.  Kibum’s brother gives a low hum in reply before proceeding to push the sleeves of Chanyeol’s jacket up to his elbows before replacing the black-rimmed glasses with his own pair of shades.  “It’s awesome, but you need to tweak it a little.”  He then says, admiring his work.  Now that Chanyeol can see his whole face, he notes that Kibum’s brother somewhat resembles a dinosaur.

“Oh, thanks.”  Kibum says, smiling at his brother.  “Chanyeol, this is Jonghyun.  He’s my older brother.  Jjong, this is Chanyeol.”

“Oh, so you’re _the_ Chanyeol.”  Jonghyun says, extending a hand for Chanyeol to shake.  “I’m Jonghyun, also known as Jjong.  Pleased to meet you.”  He then says as they’re shaking hands.

“ _The_ Chanyeol? What’s that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol asks once he’s processed Jonghyun’s words (and done admiring the dinosaur-like features).

“Nothing… yet.  But in the future it will mean something.”  Jonghyun replies, surprising both Minho and Kibum.

“Jjong!  You know we can’t do _that_!” Minho exclaims, eyes wide.

“I’m not doing _that_! I’m just warning him, somehow.” Jonghyun replies, once again looking at Chanyeol as if he’s some kind of sacred being.  “Anyways, what did you need me for?”

“We need you to get him a ride. A good one, since he’s going to Wu’s party and all.”  Minho replies.

“I think we can use a little help from Jinki. He is, after all, our liaison of sorts.”  Jonghyun replies as he takes out a normal cellphone.

“Wow.  I never thought you guys have one of those.”  Chanyeol says.

“Only me, actually.  I’m the only one allowed to carry this to contact Jinki. He used to be a part of the team, until Prof. Shim thought that it was better that he stay here and serve as a liaison to inform us of any changes.  He’s kind of an informant, I guess.”  Jonghyun replies as he dials some numbers.  Eventually, someone picks up and he goes a little farther away to talk.

“Of any _changes_? What did he mean by that?” Chanyeol asks, once again facing Minho and Kibum.

“You tell us.”  Minho replies.  “Tell me, Chanyeol, have you ever seen one of these outside?”  Minho continues, pointing to his mic.

“Yeah, in music stores, music shows...” Chanyeol replies

“But, is it technologically possible for something like this,” Kibum asks, interrupting Chanyeol, and waving the mic that he, Minho, and Jonghyun all seem to own, “to be manufactured right now?”

“No, not really.”  Chanyeol replies, then something in his mind _clicks_.  He looks at Jonghyun and Key before finally looking at Minho and his mic.  “You guys are from the _future_?”

“Bingo.”  Minho replies.

“Then you already know what’s going to happen!” Chanyeol exclaims. “And by _that_ … do you mean changing the past?”

“Yes, we already know what’s going to happen.” Jonghyun says as he returns to the group.  “And it’s not really that wonderful.  Things are bleak for all humanity; that’s why when we were given the chance to return and make things right, we immediately took it.”

“But Minho said you’re on the run right now.” Chanyeol replies.

“Yeah, and also that.”  Jonghyun replies.  “Anyway, Jinki said he’d give you a ride.  So we’re all set?” 

All of a sudden, Minho’s walkie-talkie kind of thing flares to life with noise, stunning everyone in the small attic.

“Flaming Charisma!  Flaming Charisma!  Are you in?”  A voice from the walkie-talkie kind of thing says.

“This is Flaming Charisma.  Evil Kyu, what do you have for me?” Minho replies, voice urgent.

“Flaming Charisma, listen.  You guys have to get back here soon. Prof. Shim called, he said that the enemies are getting near!”  The person on the other end replies.

“Okay, we’re almost done.  We’ll be there soon.  Take care, Evil Kyu.”  Minho says.

“You too, guys.”

“Okay, I’m out.”  Minho says before cutting the transmission.

“We better hurry then.”  Jonghyun says, earning a nod from all of the others, including Chanyeol.  “Okay, you know the rules.  Go to the party, home before midnight, okay?”  Jonghyun reminds and Chanyeol nods.  Outside, they hear the roar of an engine before Jonghyun’s normal phone rings.  “That’s Jinki. You have to go.”

“Uhm… wait.”  Chanyeol says, suddenly realizing something.  “Why do I have to get home before midnight again?”

“Because we fashioned the entire _kaching_ after the fairytale.”  Minho replies with a smug face.

“ _Kaching_?!” Chanyeol asks, sarcastically.

“Just… never mind him, okay?” Jonghyun says. “C’mon, let’s head out.”

They get Chanyeol downstairs as quietly as possible (Taemin and Jongin are still preparing, therefore less caution is needed) and out into the night.  They spot his ride, a white 1979 Trans Am Bandit, down the street and immediately approach it. A man gets out of the driver’s side and approaches them in return.

“Chanyeol, this is Jinki.  Jinki, this is Chanyeol.”  Jonghyun says, introducing them to each other.

“Jinki.  Pleased to finally meet you.”  Jinki says, shaking Chanyeol’s hand.

“Chanyeol.  Curious as to what the hell is going on in the future.” Chanyeol replies and Jinki lets out a small laugh.

“I’m not really sure anymore; but this I can tell you: it’s not pretty.”  Jinki replies.

“We must get going.  Evil Kyu just contacted us with some really bad news.” Minhos says.

“Okay.  I got this.”  Jinki replies and the three bid them goodbye before going off into the night.

“Come on,” Jinki says, beckoning Chanyeol to the Trans Am, “let’s get you to the party.”

~O~

The girl—Kristina?  Krystal?—slips him a note with her name and number on it, just like the others, and Kris thinks, _That’s it!_

“I’ve had it with this party!” Kris vents when he’s in the VIP room with Tao, Jongdae, and Yixing.  “Luhan’s not even in here!”

“Kris, calm down.”  Tao says while nursing his drink.  “The night’s almost over.”

“Taozi, I think you’re forgetting the fact that this party will go on until morning.”  Yixing says, frowning at Tao.

“Just chill, dude.”  Jongdae says before standing up and leading Kris to the door.  “Come on, let’s get you another drink.”

Kris obliges and he and Jongdae go down to the bar.  On the way, Kris tries to avoid anyone’s eyes while Jongdae tries to get them to the bar unscathed. Once they do, they immediately take the seats near the corner to ensure privacy.  The bartender, Tiffany, a black haired woman with a beautiful eye smile, approaches both of them with two glasses of water.

“Water?  You’ve gone rusty, milady.”  Jongdae teases after he’s taken a sip.

“You two look like you could use it.” Tiffany says, eyeing both of them with wary eyes.  “Everything all right?”

“Kris here is not enjoying himself. Do you have anything that can loosen him up?”  Jongdae replies.

“Well, let’s hear the problem first, then.” Tiffany says, smiling softly at Kris.

“I just really want this to be over.” Kris replies, sighing. “I don’t even want to get acquainted.”

“Does our little party boy already have someone in mind?”  Tiffany asks.

Kris looks up at her before saying, “Two Roy Rogers.  I don’t want to get drunk and I don’t want Jongdae to get _too_ drunk.”  Tiffany smiles knowingly before making the order.

“Is it true?”  Jongdae asks.

“That I don’t want to get drunk?”

“Yes.  No, that you already have someone in mind?”  Jongdae replies, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah.”  Kris says just as Tiffany returns with their drinks.  He looks at her with sad eyes before continuing, “But that someone isn’t and won’t be here.”

~O~

Chanyeol makes his way through the crowd of partying people to the couch at the far corner of the room.  The area is full, just as he’s anticipated, and he can’t find Kris anywhere (which he also anticipated).  Earlier, he bumped into Taemin and Jongin as they were dancing on the dance floor, their bodies grinding against two blonde girls.  He sighs, running a hand through his hair, and starts reading _The Neverending Story_ once again.

“Wow.”  He hears someone say after a little while.  He looks up, and sees Kris standing there, staring at him like he’s some extraterrestrial being.

“I’m sorry?”  Chanyeol replies, instead.

“Sorry.  It’s just that…”  Kris replies, gesturing to the book.  “You’re reading.  In the middle of a party.  You kind of remind me of someone.”

“Oh.”  Chanyeol replies, putting down his book.

“May I?”  Kris asks, eyeing the seat beside Chanyeol.

“Oh, sure.”  Chanyeol replies, making space for Kris.  They sit in silence for a little while before Kris decides to break it up with a sigh.

“Everything all right?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Yeah, it’s just that… it’s been a rough night.” Kris replies.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”  Chanyeol replies, thinking of SHINee. “Everyone I know has been having a rough time.”

“Glad to know I’m the only one.” Kris says, and then eyes Chanyeol with wonder.  “I would also love to know why you’re all alone and reading in the middle of a party.”

“Well, I’m sitting because my feet hurt.” Chanyeol replies, pointing to his socked feet.  “I ditched my shoes and left them over there on the other side of the couch.” Chanyeol then points to the other end of the couch they’re sitting on.  “And I’m reading because I want to.”

“You’re not here to socialize? Or, I don’t know.” Kris gestures his hand wildly. “Meet someone?”

“Not really.  I’m sure the person I want to talk to is here, but I don’t really think I’ll be able to talk to that person.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just that…” Chanyeol begins but stops when he accidentally hits his elbow on the armrest of the couch. He immediately winces and groans in pain while nursing the said elbow.

“You okay?”  Kris asks, putting a comforting hand on the other’s arm.

“Yeah, I think my joints are acting up. They’ve been like that for a couple of days now.  Maybe they’re telling me to take a break.”  Chanyeol replies with a pained smile.

“I think you should go home and get some rest.” Kris says, worry marring his features.

“Funny everyone keeps on telling me that lately.”  Chanyeol says, muttering more to himself than Kris.

“Really?”  Kris asks with suspicion.  _Why does this feel so familiar?_

“Uh… yeah.  Hey, what time is it?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Uhm… wow.  A minute ‘til midnight.”  Kris replies.

“Shit! I have to get home by midnight!” Chanyeol replies, getting off the couch and rummaging around for his jacket that he discarded a while ago.

“But…”  Kris says, unsure of what to do.

“I’m really sorry, I have to go. I was nice meeting you, though.” Chanyeol replies before turning to leave.

“Wait!”  Kris calls, but it’s too late, the boy was gone.  “I don’t even know you’re name.”

It’s only much much later, when Jinki’s back home with the Trans Am and the clothes that Kibum made have changed back to normal that Chanyeol realizes that he left his book and shoes at the party… but he’s too tired to care.

~O~

When Chanyeol wakes up, it’s like a switch had been made.

The last time he was awake, everything was clear, cool, and real.  Now, everything is blurry, hot (or cold or hot… he’s not really sure anymore), and just wrong.  It was like the world is upside down, preventing him from comprehending anything.

Then there’s the fluttering in his chest. Like there are birds inside him, which just freaks him out.  He can’t get up and make a run for it (his elbows and knees hurt, and just won’t support his plans) so he just gives up and goes back to sleep.

~O~

A knock on the door startles Kris from his reverie, causing him to jump slightly and drop the book that he’s reading.

“Kris?  It’s me, Siwon.  I got something for you.”  The voice from the other side of the door says, and Kris gets off his bed and goes to open the door.

Siwon, a muscular man with defined features, comes to view once he opens the door.  Kris lets him in and looks at Siwon questioningly.  “So, the crew is done cleaning the area where the party was held two nights ago.”  Siwon announces after some time.

“Wow.  Congratulations to them.  I thought they wouldn’t be able to do it.”  Kris replies, thinking of all the trash (both non-biodegradable and biodegradable) that was left in the area.

“Yeah, and Luhan found some stuff for you.” Siwon says, handing Kris a book and a pair of sneakers.  “We remembered the story that you told us on the way home; the one about the boy that you talked to on the couch?”

Kris nods.  “I thought I just imagined it.  I must’ve been drunk.”  He muses, thinking back to what he actually drank.

“Well, you weren’t imagining anything.” Siwon says, pointing to the items. “The cleaning crew told us that they found those on the very couch that you told us about.  He’s real, Kris, you didn’t just imagine him.”

Kris just stares at Siwon in shock. He then very carefully looks at both items, especially the book.  “I think I’ve seen this before.”  He then says, eyeing the title.

“Really?”  Siwon replies.  “Oh! Luhan was asking if he should start searching for this guy.”  He finishes with a knowing look and Kris promptly blushes.

“I guess so?”  Kris replies, unsure.  “Just.  I need some time to think.”

“Okay. We’re just outside if you need us.” Siwon says, turning around to leave.

“Wait!”  Kris says, and Siwon faces him again.  “Was it… was I really that obvious?”

“About invisible man?”  Siwon asks and Kris nods.  “Yeah.  Very.  Anyway, I’ll go back to Luhan and tell him of this new development.”  He finishes and approaches the door, but turns around before opening it.  “Just holler if you need us.”  He says, and then exits the room.

Kris goes back to the bed, staring at the book. He then flips through the pages, until his eyes land on something _green_ stuck in between.  He takes it out, and realizes that it’s a neon green note with his handwriting on it, declaring the place and time of the party.  He then looks at the sneakers, then at the book, then at the note, then back at the book, and then… _click_.

“Holy Shit!”  He shouts, before throwing the book back on the bed and running out of his room.  “Luhan! Siwon!  I need to talk to you NOW!”

~O~

The next time Chanyeol wakes up, it’s to the feeling of something tight in his chest.  Maybe Minho’s playing a trick on him—tying knots in his chest using his magic mic, maybe?  Or maybe the birds are the ones tying the knots?  He whimpers, tries to soothe out the feeling by putting a hand on his chest, but nothing happens.

And then the fluttering feeling is back, stronger than before, and Chanyeol only has a split-second to softly groan before everything fades to black.

~O~

Joonmyeon sighs as he puts down his phone after another attempt to call their missing friend.

“Still nothing?”  A small voice behind him asks, and he turns around to see Baekhyun standing by the staff room doorway.

“Sorry.”  Joonmyeon replies and Baekhyun immediately bursts into tears. Joonmyeon immediately tries to calm down his friend, and trying not to cry also.

“It’s been _days_ , Joonmyeon.  Who knows what’s going on?!”  Baekhyun says, bawling like a kid. 

“Maybe he’s just at home, resting.” Their friend, Minseok, says from the doorway.

“He always calls when he can’t work. He would’ve called.” Baekhyun replies. “I’m telling you, _something’s happened_.”

“In that case, we’ll have to try harder to find him.”  Joonmyeon says just as the door of the shop opens.  Minseok goes back to the front to entertain whoever entered, but returns after a couple of seconds.

“You guys have to check this out!” He says, prompting the two other boys to follow him quickly.  When they arrive, it’s to the sight of three men: one muscular and handsome, one blonde and wearing a suit, and the last a boy wearing a white button-down and is looking at them frantically.

“Kris?”  Baekhyun asks.  “What’s going on?”

“Where’s Chanyeol?”  Kris asks in return.

“That’s the problem, we haven’t seen or heard from him for days now.”  Baekhyun replies with a sob.

“We have to find him, I really need to talk to him.”  Kris says.

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve been trying to do lately.”  Minseok says, running a hand over his face.  “Zilch.”

“Shit.”  Kris curses.  “Now what do we do?”

“I already have some friends looking for him.” The handsome man says. Then, something strikes Kris.

“Baekhyun, do you know what Yoochun’s address is?”  He asks.

“I think so.”  Baekhyun replies, scanning his memory.  “I think it’s just quite near.  Do you think he’s there?”

“I think so.  The last I’ve heard of him was during the party, when he scrambled off to leave before midnight.”  Kris replies.

“Chanyeol was at the party?” Joonmyeon asks with surprise evident in his voice.

“How come you didn’t notice him?” Minseok asks.

“I really don’t know; I must’ve been drunk… though I’m pretty sure the only thing in my system during that time was a glass of Roy Rogers.”  Kris says, unsure.

“I guess we better get doing then.” Minseok says before they close down the shop.

~O~

This time, when Chanyeol wakes up, it’s to the feel of a cool hand on his forehead.

There are also voices, urgent voices, which are seemingly shouting worried statements to each other.  But everything sounds loud to Chanyeol, so they might be whispering for all he knows.

“Shit!  Shit!  I think we made a mistake!”  Someone screams, and the feel of cool leather disappears.

“What do you mean we made a mistake?” Another voice screams. “Should we call Key?”

“No, not yet.  I think it’s still reversible.”  The other voice says.

“Reversible!  You’ve got to be kidding me!”  A scoff.  “We can’t keep going _back_!  This is going to mess everything up! Once is already enough! Besides, what are you going to do? Stop him from going to the party and stay indoors so that he won’t catch Mr. Bad Bug?”

“You don’t understand!”  The other exclaims, frustration in his voice. “It’s not about him getting Wu, it’s about _him_!”

“What the hell do you mean it’s about him?!” The other person shouts, voice loud near Chanyeol’s ear, causing the boy to whimper slightly.

“Evil Kyu!  Lower your voice!”  The other voice says.  “You’re right, once is enough.”  The feel of cool skin is back on his forehead once again.  “It’s okay, Chanyeol, it’s okay; you’re going to be okay. It’s not yet too late, Evil Kyu; we can still do something.”

Suddenly, Chanyeol feels something wet dribble from his nose.

“Shit!”  A soft and smooth material wipes the liquid, but it doesn’t stop running down.  “Call Jinki, we need his help!”

“O-okay.  How?”  The other voice asks.  Chanyeol hears the sound of some buttons being pressed.

“He’s on speed dial 1.”  The first voice replies.  Chanyeol begins to cough and gasp for air. “Just do it, NOW!”

~O~

“Baekhyun, are you sure this is the way?” Siwon asks, driving through nighttime Las Vegas.

“This is the road we took, I remember.” Baekhyun replies.

“Just… concentrate, okay?  Try to remember as much.”  Luhan says from his seat beside Siwon. All of a sudden, the car screeches to a halt.

“Are you trying to get us killed?!” Minseok exclaims.

“What the hell…”  Siwon says instead, staring at the windshield. Outside is a man with brown hair. From where he’s sitting Luhan can see that he’s holding a microphone, and that he looks like he isn’t a bit scared of what he just did at all.  Joonmyeon immediately gets out of the car despite the others’ protests.

“Is he crazy?!”  Kris asks, talking about the man who Joonmyeon is currently screaming at.  “Is he trying to get us killed?!  Is he trying to get _himself_ killed?!” Outside, Joonmyeon has stopped screaming at the man and is now staring at him like he’s some alien.

“What’s going on?”  Baekhyun asks.  Before anyone could answer, Joonmyeon comes running back to the car as the man goes off to another direction.

“Drive.  We’re going to the right street.”  Joonmyeon seriously says.

“Joonmyeon, what happened there?” Minseok asks, placing a comforting hand on Joonmyeon’s shaking arm.  Joonmyeon then takes out a piece of paper and hands it to Luhan.

“Hey, this is…”  Luhan begins.

“Yoochun’s address.”  Baekhyun finishes.  “Shit, I was wrong with the next few turns.”

“Who was he?”  Kris asks.

“He didn’t say.”  Joonmyeon replies shakily.

“Did he tell you anything else?”

“Yeah.”  Joonmyeon replies and then everyone quiets down to listen.  “He told me that we should hurry, before it’s too late.”

~O~

A drop of something pulls Chanyeol back to consciousness.  He feels arms holding him up, securing his head against someone’s chest, and fingers gently brushing hair from his face.

That, and the feeling of an elephant sitting on his chest.  He gasps for air, and feels the tears forming when he couldn’t pull in enough.

“Chanyeol?  Come on, Yeol, answer me.  Open your eyes for me.”  A voice says, stifling a sob.

“ _Kr’s?_ ” Chanyeol asks, out of breath.

“Yes, it’s me.”  The voice replies.  A cool hand is placed on Chanyeol’s forehead.  “You’ve got quite a temperature.”

“ _Birds._ ” Chanyeol replies, gasping.

“Birds?  Where?”  Kris asks.

“ _Inside._ ” Chanyeol replies, as he feels himself slipping away.

“What?”  Kris replies.  “Luhan, I think he’s delirious.”

“I think I know what he’s talking about.” Another voice says before Chanyeol feels fingers on his neck.  “Shit.”  The voice says.  The fingers disappear and are replaced by a hand on his chest.

“ _Nooo, gerroff._ ” Chanyeol protests, rolling his head aimlessly.

“It’s his heart, it’s palpitating.” The other voice replies. “Baekhyun!  Call an ambulance!”

“Got it!”  Chanyeol hears Baekhyun’s voice from a distance. He coughs weakly, feeling himself drift away once again.

“Chanyeol, stay with me.”  Kris says as more drops fall on Chanyeol’s face. “Please, stay with me.”

Chanyeol tries to reply, but he finds out that he can’t speak.  He settles for weakly grasping Kris’s hand instead.

“See?  I’m here.”  Kris says, voice shaking, _pleading_. “I’m not going anywhere, so don’t leave me.  _Please_.”

Chanyeol feels the tears make their way down his cheeks as he continues to gasp for air and shiver because of the cold. “Shit.  Luhan, hand me that blanket.”  Kris says, and then after a short while a blanket is strewn over Chanyeol’s body.  But despite this, Chanyeol feels his shivering worsen. 

“Sssh… it’s okay, it’s going to be okay. Just don’t go anywhere, okay?” Kris says as he wipes Chanyeol’s tears.  Chanyeol, finding his energy to be suddenly gone, loosens his grip on Kris’s hand and feels his head fall limply against Kris’s chest, unable to support it.

“NO!  No no no no no…”  Kris says, gripping Chanyeol’s hand tighter.  “Where the hell are the medics?”

“Baekhyun’s already fetching them downstairs.” The other voice says.

Chanyeol gasps, feeling the blackness and cold takeover, causing his body to grow limp.  The fluttering feeling is back at its strongest, and Chanyeol feels so helpless that he can’t stop it.

“No, you are not going anywhere. You hear me?”  Kris says, raindrops falling on Chanyeol’s face. “You are not going anywhere, Park Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol hears the sound of footsteps making their way to the attic, feels the vibration of running footsteps against his body, and hears urgent voices shouting.

He lets go of Kris’s hand as the rest of his body goes limp.

The fluttering stops.

~O~

Chanyeol finds himself on a road alongside a desert.  Unsure of where to go, he starts walking under the blazing sun, but he doesn’t feel hot; he doesn’t even feel _anything_ , he realizes. He continues walking, until he sees a brown-haired man wearing a blue leather jacket fighting a pale, bald man wearing a gKyuhyun coat.  Both are pointing mics and shooting at each other.

“I didn’t mean for it to be this way.” A voice behind him says, and he turns around to see a man in front of him.  “When I wrote that will, I was only thinking of what’s best for him.”

“I’m sorry?”  Chanyeol asks.  In the background, he can hear the distant sound of the battle that’s going on.

“I didn’t think that things would end up like this. That he’d give up and just not care.”  The man says, sighing.

“I’m sorry but who are you?” Chanyeol asks. The man eyes him curiously before replying,

“I’m Kris’s dad.”

“Kris?  Who’s Kris?”  Chanyeol asks, now looking curiously at the man.

“Ah, of course.”  The man replies, stepping closer to Chanyeol and smiling fondly at him.  “You leave everything behind when she takes you away, am I right?”

Before Chanyeol could reply, they hear the roar of an engine and they both turn to look, only to see a white 1979 Trans Am Bandit a few paces from where there are.  Chanyeol looks back at the man before him and a thought suddenly enters his mind.

“I’m not supposed to be here, am I?” Chanyeol asks. The man shakes his head before digging through his pockets and taking out a set of car keys for Chanyeol to take.

“Go.  Get in the Trans Am and go.”  The man says, taking Chanyeol’s open hand and putting the keys in it before closing it.

“Where should I go?”  Chanyeol asks.  The man doesn’t answer; instead, he makes his way to the car, beckoning Chanyeol to follow.  When they reach the car, the man helps Chanyeol get into the driver seat and put the keys into the ignition.  The car starts with a roar and Chanyeol eyes the gas gauge—empty.

“You don’t have to worry about that, the car will take you to where you have to go.”  The man replies.

“But where will it take me?” Chanyeol asks. The man, again, doesn’t answer; instead, he looks ahead at the battle taking place.  Chanyeol follows suit, just in time to see the brown-haired man fall and the pale man to look at Chanyeol’s companion. Chanyeol focuses his attention back to the man he’s with, and sees him eyeing the pale man with determination.

With this, Chanyeol revs up the car’s engine and prepares to go, but the man suddenly focuses his attention back to him. He eyes the youngster in the car with pure care and compassion, as if he’s family.  He puts a comforting hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder before saying,

“Home.”

And then he lets go and steps back, and watches as Chanyeol drives to where his car will take him.

~O~

Cool sterile air.

Incessant beeping.

Soft sheets and pillow.

_This couldn’t be my attic._

Chanyeol tries to open his eyes and go look for someone to tell him what’s going on, but his eyelids just won’t cooperate. He groans, this time out of frustration, and that’s when he hears the sound of rustling sheets from his side.  A weight is suddenly lifted off from the mattress as a hand runs through is hair in a familiar and comforting manner.

“Chanyeol?  You with me this time?”  A voice asks and Chanyeol sighs with relief.  _Kris._

“Wh’r am I?”  Chanyeol asks, still trying to pry open his eyes. His throat is sore and voice sounds raw, causing him to cough a little.

“Hospital.  Wait a sec.”  Kris says and the hand disappears.  When Chanyeol finally manages to open his eyes a little, he sees Kris handing him a cup. The other brings it to his lips, and lets Chanyeol take a few sips of water before taking the cup away. Inside the room it’s dark, so Chanyeol assumes that it’s already nighttime.

“What happened?”  Chanyeol asks once Kris’s facing him again.

“You got really sick.  You’ve been asleep for a while, you know.” Kris says, looking like he’s about to cry.

Chanyeol tries to answer but ends up coughing instead.  Kris rubs soothing circles on his chest as he waits for the other’s coughing fit to pass. “Easy there,” Kris says once Chanyeol’s regained control of his breathing, “you just got the tube out a couple of days ago so your throat must still be sore, and you got that thing in your nose, so.”

“Tube?”  Chanyeol asks, feeling the nasal cannula running from his nose, and Kris nods. “How long?  In here, I mean, how long?”

Kris chokes back a sob before answering. “Too long.”  And then lunges forward to hug Chanyeol tightly. Chanyeol can feel Kris shaking, his tears soaking Chanyeol’s hospital gown, so he brings his hands up to return the embrace.

“I was so scared.”  Kris says between sobs.  “I thought we were too late.  You were just, you were in my arms and then you… you stopped breathing and then your heart stopped beating and I was so scared.” Kris says, now crying openly. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“But I’m here.”  Chanyeol replies, hugging the other tighter.  Kris lets go a little in order to look Chanyeol in the eye, and that’s when Chanyeol sees what Kris meant by _too long_.  The other’s hair is unkempt, with stKyuhyun strands sticking out everywhere, has a few days’ worth of stubble, wearing clothing that don’t look like they’re his, and has dark circles under his eyes.

“Yeah, you’re here.”  Kris replies, smiling and wiping at his tears.

“You should get some rest, you look tired.” Chanyeol says, frowning at Kris’s current appearance.

“Well, the past days had been rough.” Kris replies with a little laugh. “But I’m okay. I look worse than I feel; maybe I _do_ need a shower.” He contemplates as he pushes Chanyeol to lie back on the bed.  “You, on the other hand, probably feel as awful as you look.”

“I look awful?”  Chanyeol jokingly says, a small smile gracing his features. He can already feel the pull of sleep taking over.

Kris laughs as he pulls the blanket up to Chanyeol’s shoulders.  “Nah, I was just kidding.  Now, go to sleep.”

“Only if you promise to go to sleep, too.” Chanyeol says before letting out a yawn.

“Promise.”  Kris replies, smoothing out Chanyeol’s hair as the other closes his eyes.

“Be here when I wake up?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Of course.”  Kris replies.  The last thing that Chanyeol feels before sleep pulls him under is the feel of Kris’s lips on his forehead.

~O~

“Kris?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you staring at me?” Chanyeol asks before turning his head away from the TV and looking to the side, and sure enough, Kris is staring at him.

“Nothing.  Why do you ask?”  Kris replies with a smile.  Chanyeol huffs before yawning.

“You’re still sleepy.”  Kris muses, still smiling at Chanyeol.

“Don’t change the subject.”  Chanyeol says.  “Something’s bothering you.”

Kris gets up from his seat and pulls the chair closer to Chanyeol.  He sits down and stares at Chanyeol at eye level.  “Nope.  Nothing’s bothering me.”

“Jesus Christ!”  Chanyeol exclaims, frowning at Kris before once again letting out a yawn that causes Kris to laugh at him.  “Shut up.  Just tell me what’s up.”

“I told you, nothing!”  Kris says, and Chanyeol pouts at him. Just then, the door to the room opens, revealing Tao and Yixing.

“Oh shit!”  Yixing says once seeing the two.  Tao freezes up once he sees the two, but immediately gives Kris a sly smile.

“We’ll just drop by later.”  Tao declares before dragging Yixing out of the room. Kris returns his attention back to Chanyeol, but finds the other already asleep.  He lets out a little laugh before smiling fondly at the sleeping boy.

“Yeah, absolutely nothing.”

~O~

A cold and damp feeling against Chanyeol’s lips brings him back from the realms of sleep.  There’s a weight beside him on the mattress and voices all around him; _very familiar voices_.

“Jesus Christ!  Jinri, get down here!”  A voice says, from the foot of the bed.

“But his lips are dry; they must hurt.” A voice, small and childish, from his left says.  When he opens his eyes, he sees a girl smiling at him, holding a damp washcloth.

“Hi!”  She says, before a slightly chubby but tall man escorts her from the bed and down to the ground.  When he looks around, Chanyeol sees the rest of SHINee all smiling at him.

“Hey guys.”  Chanyeol says as he tries to get up.  Minho is immediately by his right; propping up his pillows and helping him lean against them.  “Jonghyun, you okay?”  Chanyeol asks, a small and distant memory of a brown-haired guy falling in battle suddenly assaulting him.

Jonghyun looks at him like he has two heads. “Yeah, I’m okay. You on the other hand…”

“I’m fine.”  Chanyeol replies.

“Yeah right.”  Minho says from his right.  “By the way, that’s Kyuhyun, also known as Evil Kyu; he’s another one of us, Prof. Shim’s men.  The girl is Jinri.”

“Hi.”  Chanyeol says, smiling.  “You were there.  In the attic, I mean. I think I heard you and Jonghyun talking to each other when I was sick.”

“Yeah.  I was there.”  Kyuhyun replies. Then there’s a comfortable silence in which the only sound of the heart monitor can be heard.

“You guys look pretty tired.” Chanyeol comments.

“You have no idea.”  Kibum says, but he’s smiling.

“It’s been a rough two weeks.” Jonghyun muses, nodding his head.

“Two weeks?  No wonder you’re all tired.”  Chanyeol replies.

“I wasn’t talking about us.” Jonghyun replies, looking straight at Chanyeol. “I was talking about you guys in here.”

“What?”  Chanyeol asks, and then suddenly, realization dawns upon him.  “I’ve been… two weeks?  No way!”

“Yeah, sorry.”  Minhos says, putting a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“No wonder Kris’s acting weird.” Chanyeol says, his whole body trembling. Suddenly, a pair of small arms is hugging him, and soft hair touches his face.

“It’s okay.”  The girl, Jinri, says.  “You’re okay now and that’s all that matters.”  She holds him like that until Chanyeol calms down, and then she lets go and sits beside him.

“You should rest.”  Kyuhyun says, eyeing the machines around Chanyeol. “The fact that those are still hooked up to you mean you’re not a hundred percent yet.”

“Besides, we just dropped by to see how you’re doing and to thank you personally.”  Kibum says.

“Thank me?  For what?”  Chanyeol asks, surprised.

“We’ll tell you some other time.” Minho says before motioning for Jinri to help him.  “For now, you must rest so that you can ditch these noisy things.

“Does that mean that I’ll see you guys again?” Chanyeol asks as Jinri gently pushes him back to lie down.

“Trust me, you will.”  Jonghyun says with a smile before looking at his brother.

“Just what is going on in the future?” Chanyeol asks, frustrated. Jinri just laughs and takes one if his hands before putting something in it and closing it.

“You’ll know soon enough.  You just have to be patient.”  She says.  Chanyeol looks at the thing in his hand and realizes that it’s a woven bracelet with lettered beads spelling out his name.

“Wow.  Thank you.”  He says, as Jinri helps him tie the knot that will secure the bracelet.  “But what is it for?”

“It’s a thank you gift.”  She replies.  “I thought it would be nice if you had it now than later, you know.”

“Thank you gift for what?”  Chanyeol asks.  Jinri just kisses him on the cheek before whispering, “For being the most awesome person in the world.”  They just smile at each other until Jonghyun announces that they have to leave. They bid each other goodbye, SHINee members patting Chanyeol on the shoulder and Jinri kissing him on the cheek once again, before they all crowd into the bathroom.  Chanyeol hears some rustling and pained cries inside before Minho counts them off and the noise disappears.  He then eyes the bracelet, and for some reason, he feels a surge of pride.

~O~

“Do I really have to do this?” Chanyeol asks Kris as the other helps him get on the wheelchair.

“Yes.”  Kris replies as he hands Chanyeol a sweater.  “Put that on.”

“I can walk, you know.”  Chanyeol replies after he puts on Kris’s sweater.

“Shut up and listen to the doctor.” Kris says, as he turns his attention to Chanyeol’s doctor, Dr Kwon.

“Okay.”  She says before looking Kris in the eyes.  “Chanyeol’s stubborn, so I’ll leave it up to you to make sure he gets rest okay?”  She asks and Kris nods, before looking at Chanyeol pointedly.  “Now, complete bed rest.”  Chanyeol groans in protest.  “Shut up.  Complete bed rest; make sure he gets a lot of fluids in him and no skipping meals.  Don’t forget to give him his meds and make sure that his surroundings are clean. He’s still recuperating and is very vulnerable to all kinds of sickness.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he does all that.” Kris says with a nod.

“Oh, and don’t forget the monthly check-ups.” She says before turning to Chanyeol. “We have to watch that heart of yours and make sure that there aren’t any complications with your _second_ bout of rheumatic fever. Did you really think that not telling anyone about your earlier episode of the fever when you were a kid is a justifiable action?”

“I just…”  Chanyeol starts to justify himself.

“Not open for discussion.”  Dr. Kwon replies.

 “Okay.”  Chanyeol replies, resigned.

“We better get going.  Siwon’s already waiting for us downstairs.” Kris says.

“Okay.  Have a safe trip, then!”  Dr. Kwon says as she waves them off.  Kris wheels Chanyeol off his room to the elevator, bidding goodbye to the nurses and doctors that he has come to know in the hospital along the way.

“One month, huh.”  Chanyeol says when they’re already inside the elevator. He feels Kris’ grip on the handlebars of the wheelchair tighten at the statement. 

“You sure took your time.”  Kris replies, voice clipped.

“But what happened to Yoochun?” Chanyeol asks, voice small. He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder and sees that Kris is now kneeling beside him.

“Let’s just say that Siwon and Luhan already took care of him.  He won’t bother you anymore, that’s for sure.”

“And the others in the house? Taemin and Jongin?”

“I don’t know what happened to Taemin and Jongin, though the others were given to social services.”

“They were all underage?”  Chanyeol asks, thinking of Sehun and the bruises on his wrist.

“Not all of them, but the younger ones refuse to be separated from the older ones, so…”

“I always thought that the only way for me to get out of there was in a body bag.”  Chanyeol muses and Kris gasps.  “I’ve always wanted to get everyone out of there, especially when I see what the people _outside_ do to them.”

“How come you never did what they did?” Kris asks.

“I did at first.  But I always did fight back, and Yoochun resolved the issue by making me stay in the attic and leaving me to do all the chores in the house.”

“Just you?”

“You did say that I have an obscene amount of chores.”

“I’ve known Yoochun for quite some time. I mean, just as the guy who owns the record shop down the corner, but I never thought that he also owned a few strip clubs.”  Kris says, frowning. The elevator door opens and Kris wheels Chanyeol out to the front door where the car is waiting for them. Luhan helps Kris get Chanyeol inside the car and after a while, they signal for Siwon to finally drive off.

“So, I’ve taken care of the arrangements in the house according to the doctor’s orders.”  Luhan says.  “Everything’s all set for Chanyeol’s arrival.”

“Kris, you don’t have to do this.” Chanyeol says, frowning at Kris.

“And I told you that I want to.” Kris replies.  “And besides, you don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Baekhyun’s!”

“He’s working, Chanyeol.  He won’t be able to take care of you. I’ll just end up going to his place every day to make sure you stay put.”

“Well, you have school too!”

“Chanyeol,” Kris says before pulling the boy to lean against his side, “school ended a week before you woke up.”

“Oh.”  Was the only thing Chanyeol could say.  “Will we be there soon?”

“Yeah.”  This time, it’s Siwon who replies.

“Sleep.  I’ll wake you up when we’re there.”  Kris says before Chanyeol closes his eyes, the soft sound of Kris humming lulling him to sleep.

~O~

Loud footsteps can be heard outside, but Chanyeol does not pay attention to anything else.  He continues to play the piano piece, even as Kris enters the room and shuts the door loudly. 

“Chanyeol!”  Kris shouts, Chanyeol stops playing and looks at Kris. He then smiles sheepishly and scratches his head.

“Hello.”  He says with a small voice.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kris says as he approaches Chanyeol.

“Playing the piano?”  Chanyeol replies just as Kris reaches him. The other eyes him with dark eyes before his expression softens and he sits beside Chanyeol on the piano bench.

“The doctor said you have to be on bed rest.” Kris says.

“Kris, you can’t expect me to just lie around and do nothing!”  Chanyeol exclaims. “I was just playing the piano, after all.  You don’t need much effort to do that.”

“You should’ve told me.”  Kris says, putting a hand over Chanyeol’s.

“I know, sorry.”  Chanyeol says.  “I just wanted to get out of there for a while, it’s kind of suffocating.”

“It’s okay.”  Kris says, pulling Chanyeol against his side.  “You never told me you play the piano, though.”

“I think I can play almost all the instruments in this room.”  Chanyeol says, looking around.  Kris does too, before saying, “Wow.  That’s a lot.”

“My parents were both musicians, so.” Chanyeol replies, shrugging. “It all started when my grandma taught me how to play _Chopsticks_ on her upright.  My mom got her old teacher to teach me the piano, then my dad bought me a guitar, then both my parents bought me a drum set, and then the rest was history.”

“What else do you play?”

“Bass and African drums.”  Chanyeol replies.  “Kris, can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“What happened at the party?” Chanyeol asks and Kris suddenly stiffens.

“What do you mean?”

“You promised that you’d tell me what happens the next time we meet, but you never really did.”  Chanyeol says.  “Did you find someone?”

Kris laughs.  “Not really.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Well… not really.”  Kris replies.  “You see, I already knew who I wanted, but I had doubts that that person will say yes.”  He continues when he sees Chanyeol’s questioning look.

“Did she say yes?”

“Not yet.”  Kris says before someone knocks on the door.  Kris excuses himself to answer it, and Chanyeol is left playing with his socked feet.  “I mean,” Kris continues and Chanyeol realizes that Luhan has entered and is handing Kris a paper bag, “I haven’t asked _him_ yet.”  Kris says before taking out a pair of black sneakers from the bag.

Chanyeol’s heart skips a beat.

“I was about to, you know.  That’s why I left him a note in the book that he was reading; unfortunately, he couldn’t come, or so I thought.” Kris says as he gets down on one knee in front of Chanyeol.  “I just didn’t recognize him for some reason; I always thought it was because of the Roy Rogers, which is just weird because it’s not even an alcoholic drink, and because he had to get home by midnight.”

“He did manage to leave his sneakers and book behind, though.”  Kris continues and Luhan hands Chanyeol his book, with the note written on neon green paper on top. “I wasn’t sure at first,” Kris says as puts Chanyeol’s right foot on his bent knee, “but then I saw the note. That’s when I knew that couch guy was really him.”  Kris laughs. “It’s kind of like Cinderella, except I was supposed to send out people to look for him instead of, you know, searching for him myself and finding him deathly sick with rheumatic fever in a pimp’s attic.”

“So I thought, let’s just forget all the unnecessary things that happened and move on.  So I brought him home from the hospital and was finally going to ask him when he disappears from his room.  I panic, and tell every person that I can find to go look for him. But I end up finding him in the music room myself, playing a beautiful sounding piano piece, which I’m sure I won’t be able to pronounce the name of properly.”  Kris finishes and Chanyeol laughs.  Kris then takes the right sneaker and holds it out to Chanyeol.

“So Park Chanyeol, will this shoe fit?” He asks with a smile that sends Chanyeol’s heart fluttering in a good way.  Chanyeol takes the shoe to put it on his right foot, but he hasn’t even put his entire foot in the shoe when Kris pulls him by the collar and kisses his on the lips. Chanyeol immediately returns the kiss, putting his arms around Kris’s neck, leaving the shoe forgotten.

They hear a door open and close; Luhan has left the room.  Outside, they hear a shout of, “Siwon!  You owe me 20 Won!” They part for air and Chanyeol hides his face on the crook of Kris’s neck, inhaling the other’s scent. Kris, while running a hand through Chanyeol’s hair and at the same time caressing his nape, whispers, “You okay?”

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol replies.  “Just, you know…”

“Happy, yeah.”  Kris replies.

“Is Luhan really your lawyer?” Chanyeol asks, remembering what they heard after Luhan got out of the room.  Kris laughs the says, “Trust me, I question his actions sometimes, too.”  They stay like that for a while until Chanyeol realizes that he’s forgotten to put on the shoes. So, he breaks away from Kris’s embrace and puts on the shoe.

“Chanyeol?”  Kris asks as Chanyeol ties the laces of the first shoe.

“Hm?”  Chanyeol replies.  Kris doesn’t answer at first, and that prompts him to look up.  Kris is staring at him, as if it’s the first time he’s seen Chanyeol.

“Kris?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Marry me?”  Kris asks in return.  Chanyeol is stunned at first; he couldn’t speak, couldn’t think, and couldn’t _breathe_.  Then, all the emotions come rushing in. He cries, feels the tears running down his cheeks, but because he’s _happy_ —extremely happy.  He pulls Kris closer, putting his forehead against the other’s, smiling and crying at the same time.

“Yes!  I’ll marry you!”  Chanyeol says before he kisses Kris once again.

“To think that I almost didn’t have this.” Kris says as he strokes Chanyeol’s cheek with his thumb after they part.

“Almost.”  Chanyeol says, as Kris now wipes away his tears. “I have to finish putting on the shoes.  I left my slippers in my room.”

“Not gonna be your room anymore since you’re going to be staying in mine.”  Kris says as he stands up, pulling Chanyeol up with him.  “Put your shoes on later.”

“Why?”  Chanyeol asks, bending to get the other shoe from the floor.

“Play something for me?”  Kris answers, gesturing towards the piano.

But Chanyeol was already sitting on the floor, putting on the other shoe.

~O~

“Still on bed rest?”  A voice says from the foot of Chanyeol’s bed. He puts down _The Neverending Story_ and sees Jonghyun standing by his feet.

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol replies with a smile.  “I think it’s already way overdue, though.”

“I would’ve done the same thing, considering what happened.”  Jonghyun says as he approaches Chanyeol.  “And besides, it’s pretty clear that you still need to rest.”  He finishes, looking pointedly at Chanyeol’s still-tired appearance.

“I slept late last night.”  Chanyeol replies.  “I was reading.”

“Isn’t this Kris’s room?”  Jonghyun asks, looking around.

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol says before closing the book and smiling sheepishly.  “I read when he was sleeping.  I used a flashlight.”

“Jesus Christ!  Future Kris’s going to hear about this!”  Jonghyun says jokingly and they both laugh. “Seriously, though. You must rest. No more reading while Kris is asleep, okay?” 

“Okay.”  Chanyeol replies.  “Go sit down.” He says and Jonghyun sits by Chanyeol’s knee on the bed.

“How are you doing?”  Jonghyun asks.  Chanyeol notices that he looks better and sounds happier.

“I’m fine.  Better.”  Chanyeol replies.  “You look better, too.  Things must be going great for you guys.”

“Yeah, things _are_ going great for us.”  Jonghyun replies before ruffling Chanyeol’s hair.  “Bed hair, so don’t complain.  Also, you’re gaining back your weight.”

“Yeah well, I really would since there are at least six people trying to shove food down my throat.”  Chanyeol replies.

“You know where Kris is?”  Jonghyun asks.

“Out with Tao, Yixing, and Jongdae.” Chanyeol replies, suddenly smiling.  “Things are really back to normal, you know.  Tao said that when I was in the hospital, Kris wouldn’t leave except for school and for a shower back home; which is totally funny considering its _Kris_ we’re talking about.  And when I got here, he’s been watching me all day every day so it’s really nice that we finally managed to convince him to go out and have fun.”

“But I bet he won’t be able to help it and come rushing back here as soon as they’re done.”  Jonghyun says, laughing.  This time, Chanyeol notices his clothes.  He pointedly stares at the blue button down, slacks, and leather shoes

“Jonghyun, what’s going on?” Chanyeol asks, perplexed.

“I’m going back to school.”  Jonghyun replies with a really bright smile. “In fact, all of SHINee is!”

“Really?!  Congratulations!”  Chanyeol replies.

“Thanks, and congratulations to you too.” Jonghyun replies and Chanyeol looks at him curiously.  “What? You think we don’t know about Kris’ marriage proposal and your answer?”

“Oh, of course, because you’re awesome.” Chanyeol replies and Jonghyun grins.

“You’re learning.”

“The future must be better for you guys, huh.”

“Yeah.  That’s why I’ve come to thank you once again, and explain everything to you.  I think we owe you that much.”  Jonghyun says.

“Okay.  Go on.”  Chanyeol says, urging Jonghyun.

“We actually came from Seoul, in the year 3000. During that time, the Super Junior Group of Companies and its leader, Heechul, control the entirety of Korea. We, the Shining SHINee with Prof. Shim, Evil Kyu, and Jinri are outlaws who are fighting against them. The Korea that we came to know is very different from the Korea of today; there’s no life, it’s just a large expanse of desert, somewhat like Las Vegas.

But the Super Junior Group of Companies wasn’t always headed by Heechul, and it wasn’t always an aimless corporation that does nothing but hurt the whole of Korea.  It wasn’t even named Super Junior Group of Companies before! What we know as the Super Junior Group of Companies started out as a small string of establishments that grew to be a powerful business—an empire.”

“Wait, are you telling me…?” Chanyeol says, confused and surprised.

“Yes.  Super Junior Group of Companies or what the empire that will grow to be Super Junior Group of Companies was once owned by Mr. Wu, Kris’s father.” Jonghyun replies.

A vision of a face of a man seen through a window of a car assaults Chanyeol, and he stares out the bedroom window for a moment to clear his head.  _Could it be…?_

“Chanyeol, you still with me?” Jonghyun asks.

“Uh yeah.”  Chanyeol says, looking back at the brown-haired man. “Please continue.”

“When he died, the empire went to Mr. Wu’s other relatives and they fought over it until the entire family disintegrated, the power of greed much more powerful than blood. That’s when Heechul stepped in—Heechul was a friend of Kris’ father and he’s always had his eyes on the empire.  He knows his way when it comes to business and is charming to boot; the Wu family didn’t stand a chance against him.  So he got the empire and turned it to the Super Junior Group of Companies.  The company’s influence just kept on expanding and expanding, until it had all of Korea under its control.”

“Wait, how come Kris didn’t get the empire?” Chanyeol asks. Jonghyun sighs before answering the question.

“When Prof. Shim told us that he found out a way to go back in time and reverse this all, we immediately said we’d do it. That’s when he explained everything to us; how the Super Junior Group of Companies came to be, how Heechul got it, pretty much what I just told you.  But when we asked what we needed to do here to reverse it, he gave two names: Kris Wu and Park Chanyeol.”

“But what does this have to do with me?” Chanyeol asks.

“When we went here, it’s with two things: the information about your friendship with Kris given to us by Prof. Shim and the impression that we had to make sure that you got to the party so that he’ll choose you.”

“Which you did.”  Chanyeol says, confused. 

“That’s where we were wrong. We didn’t come back so that we can get you to the party so that Kris will choose you, because Kris already chose you even before the party.  It wasn’t about you snagging Kris, because you already had Kris right from the moment you two met in the store.  You see, we weren’t sent back in time for Kris; we were sent back for _you_.”

“For me?”  Chanyeol asks, even more confused.

“Yes, for you.”  Jonghyun said, looking at Chanyeol.  “Kris never married, Chanyeol.  Not because he didn’t want to or because the world was against the two of you being together, but because he was too late.”

“What…?”

“You died, Chanyeol.”  Jonghyun says and Chanyeol just stares at him, shocked. “You died in that attic because of rheumatic fever.”

“But I died this time too, didn’t I?” Chanyeol says, trying to convince himself that what he’s hearing is wrong.  “Kris said that my heart stopped beating.  That’s technically death, right?”

“Yes, it is.  But there’s a difference in the time frame.”  Jonghyun says, running a palm over his face. “In the unchanged past, Kris and the others who came for you got lost because Baekhyun couldn’t remember the right address.  By the time they got to you, you were already dead for an hour and it was already too late.”

“No way.”  Chanyeol says, looking down at his trembling hands. _I was supposed to die?_

“I know it’s a lot to take in…” Jonghyun says, putting a comforting hand over Chanyeol’s trembling ones.

“Then how come I’m alive?”  Chanyeol asks with a shaky voice.

“Because we interfered.”  Jonghyun replies and Chanyeol looks up. Jonghyun can see the tears forming at the other’s eyes.  “We told Jinki to look for your friends on the road where they’ll take the wrong turn and stop them there to give them the right address and to tell them to hurry. By doing that, they never got lost and they got to you in time.”

“Before I… let go, I heard the sound of feet coming upstairs.”  Chanyeol says.

“Paramedics.”  Jonghyun says before laughing softly.  “It’s just funny that all this time, we thought that we came back here to help you dress up and stuff, when the only thing we had to do was to keep you safe and make sure your friends don’t get lost.”

“What happened to Kris in the unchanged past?” Chanyeol asks.

“He was devastated by your death. He just… let go of everything, I guess.  After he finished college, he moved to Europe to study more and left the empire to his other relatives.  Luhan and Siwon went with him and tried to get him to marry, but they eventually gave up and stayed to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.  He was so depressed and he never got over your death, it was like he died with you.”

“It still doesn’t explain why you’re thanking me.”  Chanyeol says, frowning. “I mean, I didn’t save myself. Kris and you guys did.”

“You could’ve easily driven to the wrong direction.  Or you could’ve never listened to Kris’s father and never gotten into the Trans Am at all.” Jonghyun says with a smile. Chanyeol just stares at him with his jaw hanging.

“It was real!”  Chanyeol asks.  “I thought it was just a dream.”

“I don’t really know about that one. I’ve never really died before.” Jonghyun muses. “But still, it was all up to you. So we’re thanking you because you chose to stay, because you never let go.”

“Well, you’re welcome.”  Chanyeol says, smiling.  “But I think that between death and Kris, my choice would be pretty clear.”

Jonghyun laughs.  “You saw Heechul in you dream, didn’t you?”

“Is he the guy with a shoulder-length brown hair?” Chanyeol asks and Jonghyun nods. “Yeah, I did.  How do you know this stuff, anyway? Do you guys have abilities like that?”

“Chanyeol, we time travel, we don’t read minds.” Jonghyun replies. “Surely, time traveling has its perks.”

“Huh?  Wait… I told you.”  Chanyeol says, looking at Jonghyun in awe.  “I told you about my dream in the future!”

“Yeah, you still can’t remember everything right now, but it’ll slowly come back.  And then, you’ll tell us in the future.”

“Then we’ll become friends?” Chanyeol asks.

“Aren’t we friends yet?”  Jonghyun asks, to which Chanyeol answers with a huge smile. “You’re still wearing the bracelet.”  Jonghyun then says, upon seeing the gift from Jinri.

“Yeah.”  Chanyeol says, smiling down at the letters of his name.

“Don’t lose it.”

“Sure.  But why?  Is it going to be important in the future?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Nah.  I mean, isn’t it awesome that you have something from the _future_?  Even I still can’t believe that we can time travel, you know.”  Jonghyun says.  “Oh, before I forget.”  He says, taking out a box by the foot of the bed.  “We thought we’d give this to you.” He says as he hands it to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol opens the box, and sees a walkie-talkie kind of thing inside.  “Jonghyun! This is… wow.” Chanyeol says as he picks it up.

“We just thought… you know, if ever you need something or if you just want to talk.”  Jonghyun says with a smile.  “Everything’s inside.  Manual, charger, and extra batteries.”

“Thanks.  Now I have two things from the future!”  Chanyeol says gleefully before turning serious. “Is everything going to be okay? I mean, is everything okay with Kris and me and everyone else?”

Jonghyun puts a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Everything’s okay. Sure, there are some small bumps along the way, but they’re nothing that Siwon or Luhan or both can’t take care of.”  Chanyeol laughs. “Just don’t give up or lose hope, Chanyeol. Believe me, from now on, everything’s going to be perfect.”

And Chanyeol believes him.

They hear the sound of a car horn from outside.

“Well, I have to go.  It looks like your prince is here.” Jonghyun says.

Chanyeol immediately turns red. “Wow… uhm… I don’t know what to say.”

Jonghyun laughs, loud and hearty. “Well, you’ll have to get used to worse teasing in the future.”

“Seriously?!”

“Let’s just say that Baekhyun, Joonmyeon, and Minseok aren’t really forgiving when it comes to teasing you about your love life.”

“I should’ve known.”

“And that their teasing is greatly infectious and we have caught the bug.”

“Oh come on!”  Chanyeol says, his arms flailing around.  Jonghyun once again laughs before looking at him fondly.

“Well, until we meet again, Chanyeol.” He finally says.

“Until we meet again.”  Chanyeol says.  “Though, I hope it’s not that far into the future. And I hope that you guys will remember me once we do.”

“You just have to be patient. And trust me, we’ll remember you.”  Jonghyun says.

“I’ll be expecting that.   Take care!”  Chanyeol says just as Jonghyun takes out his walkie-talkie kind of thing.

“You too, take care.  Rest, okay?  See you soon!”  Jonghyun says before pushing a button and disappearing.  The door opens just as Jonghyun disappears, revealing a smiling Kris.

“Hello!”  Kris says before dropping his bags and rushing to the bed. He doesn’t even bother to remove his sneakers, just climbs onto the bed and flops down beside Chanyeol. “I missed you.” He then says before kissing Chanyeol.

“Kris, your shoes.”  Chanyeol says as soon as Kris stops kissing him. “You’ll get dirt on the sheets.”

Kris looks at the dirt-stained sheets before looking back at Chanyeol.  “Don’t worry about it; leave it be.  We’ll just change them later.”

“Wow.  Talk about not worrying at all.”  Chanyeol says.  “You’re too happy; did something happen?”

“Nah, I just really missed you.” Kris replies.

“You weren’t even gone for a day!” Chanyeol replies. Kris just laughs and buries his face on Chanyeol’s shoulder.  “Why do you have so many things with you, anyway?  When you left you only had your wallet and phone with you, I think.”

“Oh, I bought some stuff for you. Clothes, mostly, but there are other stuff too.”  Kris replies and Chanyeol looks as if he’s about to protest.  “I can’t take Luhan’s complaints anymore, you know? About how he’s going to turn you over to the fashion police?  And I don’t really think you’re getting out of this house anytime soon so I took it upon myself to buy some stuff.”

“Wow… I don’t… thanks.”  Chanyeol says, at a loss for words.

“Just accept it, okay?  And besides, even if I didn’t do it now, Baekhyun and others would’ve dragged me with them to go look for clothes for you.” Kris replies.  “Speaking of which, Minseok wanted me to tell you that he’s managing the record store now, and the three of them are planning on opening a coffee shop and would you want to help them with it?”

“Oh sure!”  Chanyeol replies.  “Minseok’s always loved coffee, and I guess he’s the one who turned everyone who works in the record store into caffeine addicts.”

“Hm… I can definitely see an investment there, can’t you?”  Kris says, getting out of the bed and pulling Chanyeol with him.

“Yeah, I can.”  Chanyeol replies.  “Wait, you’re actually letting me out of bed?”

“Just this once.  But after you fit all of those clothes I bought, you’re going straight back to bed.  Got it?”  Kris says, handing a white button down to Chanyeol.

“Yessir.”  Chanyeol replies, taking the button down.  Somewhere in his mind, Chanyeol can remember a time when he was sitting inside a car in the middle of a desert, asking someone where the car would take him.  He vaguely remembers a man’s face coming to view through the car’s window and replying, “ _Home._ ”

And now, as he lets Kris dress him of his new clothes, Chanyeol can’t help but agree with what the man said. With a smile, he takes Kris’s hands and pulls him in for a kiss, all the while thinking,

“ _And we will live happily ever after._ ”

 

 

**The End**

**Epilogue**

Beijing, two years after

“Wow, this is beautiful.”  Kris comments, looking at a painting of what looks like the Las Vegas desert.  The focus of the painting, however, is a white sports car that is making its way across the desert.

“All of the paintings are, really.” Chanyeol replies, looking around them.  They are currently on vacation in Beijing because Henry, a friend of Kris, phoned them a few days ago to tell them about this really awesome artist who is hosting a viewing of his works in a gallery not far from their hotel.  Kim Jonghyun, the name of the artist, is apparently a good friend of Henry whom he met in art school.

“Do you like it?”  Kris asks.

“Yeah, I really like it.”  Chanyeol replies, staring at the car. _How come it looks so familiar?_

“I was thinking that it will look great in our room, don’t you think?”  Kris asks, and Chanyeol smiles at him in return.

“Yes, it will.”  Chanyeol replies, and then looks back to the painting. “I just wonder what car that is, though.  It looks _very_ familiar.”

“It’s a 1979 Trans Am Bandit.” A voice behind them says, and they both turn around to see who it is.  Chanyeol gasps, suddenly realizing who it is.  Despite the short haircut, dirt-free face, tux, and black leather shoes, Chanyeol just knows who this man is.  _Minho_.

“My friend, Jinki, owns one. It’s actually the car featured in that painting.”  The man continues. “I’m Choi Minho, by the way, a friend of the Kims.”  He says, taking out a hand.  Chanyeol immediately takes it, a smile on his face to which Minho answers with a knowing smile of his own.

Kris then shakes Minho’s hand. “Hello, Mr. Choi. Actually, we were thinking of buying the painting.”

“That’s great!”  Minhos says, clapping his hands.  “Come on, let me take you to the man himself.”  He says and beckons the two.

They walk quietly for some time until they reach a group of four men in front of a painting.  The painting is set in the same desert, this time focusing on four men and a tall girl wearing brightly colored leather jackets. Their backs are facing the viewer, keeping their identities a secret.  They are seemingly walking off into the distance, while the sky showcases a rising sun.

“That one’s beautiful too.”  Kris says.

“It’s called _SHINee World_.  It’s actually the hardest one to paint, with the intricate details and all, and the most expensive of all the paintings.”  Minho replies before calling out to the men looking at the painting.

“Gentlemen, someone wants to buy _Destination_.”  He says and the four men turn around to look at them.  Once again, Chanyeol gasps once he realizes who they are. Albeit the formal clothes, clean faces, and normal hair, Chanyeol ends up smiling because he just knows that _this is it_ —this is the meeting he’s been waiting for a long time now.

The man, who when Chanyeol last saw him gave him a precious gift, steps forward and smiles at them.  Behind him, Chanyeol can see the others smiling at them too.  The man stops in front of them, his smile seemingly brighter.

“You look better than last time.” He comments.

“Thanks.  You guys too, you all look better.”  Chanyeol replies, looking at all of them.

“You know them?”  Kris asks Chanyeol.

“Yeah, from something that happened a few years back.”  Chanyeol replies. “I just didn’t realize that it was you.  When Henry said your name, I thought it was someone else.”  Chanyeol then says, now addressing the man.

“It’s alright.”  The man says.  “It’s been a long time, Park Chanyeol.  It’s nice to see you again.”

“Yeah, same here.”  Chanyeol replies.  “Kris, this is Kim Jonghyun.  Those are Kibum, Jinki, and Kyuhyun.  Choi Minho already introduced himself.” He then says to Kris.

“Wow.  You know him too?”  Kris says, surprised.

“Yeah, I was just too surprised that I didn’t know what to do.  I mean, how long has it been?”  Chanyeol asks.

“Two years.”  Minho replies, nodding.

“Wow.  That’s quite long.”  Kris replies.  “Well, it’s nice meeting all of you.”  He then says with a sincere smile.

“Same here.”  Jonghyun says, smiling at Kris.  “Now come on, let’s talk about that painting you wanted over coffee, shall we?”  He asks and the others agree.

And later, when they’ve already bought the painting and everyone’s laughing and sharing the funniest stories over coffee, Jonghyun, who is sitting between Chanyeol and Kibum, puts a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder and says, “See?  I told you everything’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol replies while looking at the letters of his name from a bracelet from the future, “everything’s okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> For this year's Krisyeol November! :3
> 
> This story is a modern re-telling of Cinderella, with a lot more of other stuff added into the mix.  
> As usual, this fic is un-beta'd, which means that I relied on my average editing skills to make this story work. I do hope that everyone will enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Again, comments are welcome and well-appreciated! :3


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